Communication apparatus

ABSTRACT

An internal terminal that connects to a DNS server, the server storing and managing a telephone number for communication and an external NAPTR record, the internal terminal including: a terminal communication controller that accesses the DNS server and notifies the DNS server of a telephone number for the communication; a terminal-side controller that obtains, when the DNS server is informed of the communication telephone number, an external NAPTR record being corresponding to the communication telephone number; an IP service presence determination unit that determines whether the external NAPTR record has function service information related to IP communication; and a display that displays the available IP communication service function of the destination corresponding to the communication telephone number, when it is determined that the external NAPTR record has the IP communication service function.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the communication apparatus, e.g.,telephone terminal, fax terminal etc; that connects to a domain namesystem server (hereafter referred to as DNS server), the server having aENUM (tElephone Number Mapping) function that stores and manages atelephone number and various destination information corresponding tothe telephone number, and provides a user with the information accordingto a telephone number used for an inquiry by the user (hereafterreferred to as inquiry telephone number).

2. Description of Related Art

In recent years of the rapid IP network service development, variousresearches have been done around the world, on an ENUM function thatenables various applications for communication services (e.g., “IPtelephones” including e-mail, telephone call, and Internet telephonecall; and “IFAX” including fax and Internet fax) utilizing only acurrently used telephone number.

A DNS server having the ENUM function is provided with a table thatstores and manages a telephone number and destination informationincluding communication service related to the telephone number (e.g.URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) such as e-mail address, ordinarytelephone number, IP telephone number, fax number and IFAX number). Forexample, upon receiving notifications of an inquiry telephone numberfrom a terminal apparatus, destination information corresponding to theinquiry telephone number is obtained from the table so that, out of allobtained destination information, the destination information onlyrelated to the apparatus type (service function), which is used by theinquiring terminal apparatus, is provided to the terminal apparatus(cf., non-patent article 1).

In a management table within a DNS server, a telephone number andvarious destination information corresponding to the telephone number(URI information) is usually registered by an operation setting of theuser, under a permission of a person having the telephone number.

For example, when sending an e-mail from a terminal apparatus to acommunication destination, the user of the terminal apparatus inputs thedestination telephone number in an e-mail destination field of thee-mail application, while maintaining the e-mail application of theterminal apparatus, and executes a transmission command of the e-mail.

The DNS server, upon receiving the telephone number and the transmissioncommand from the terminal apparatus, searches the management table foran e-mail address corresponding to the telephone number and returns theobtained e-mail address of the destination to the terminal apparatus.

Upon receiving the e-mail address of the destination from the DNSserver, the user of the terminal apparatus can e-mail the destinationusing the e-mail address.

According to the DNS server having the above described ENUM function,the user of the terminal apparatus can easily obtain the destinationinformation as long as the user has the destination telephone number,even if the user does not have the complete destination information(such as e-mail address or IFAX number of the destination). [Non-patentarticle 1] Shigeki GOTO et al., “Internet telephone and ENUM” [on-line],Oct. 18, 2002, Japan Network Information Center, [searched on Nov. 25,2003], Internet <URL: HYPERLINKhttp://www.nic.ad.jp/ja/materials/after/20021018/ENUM20021018.PDF>

When the terminal apparatus, connected to the DNS server having thedescribed ENUM function, transmits a destination telephone number to theDNS server, in ordered to obtain the destination information, thedestination information can be obtained from the DNS server. However,when the terminal apparatus using a telephone service function transmitsan inquiry telephone number to the DNS server, for example, only thedestination information related to the ordinary telephone service isobtained from the DNS server, even if the destination informationrelated to an IP telephone is also managed in the table. In other words,the user of the terminal apparatus is only notified of the ordinarytelephone information and is not notified of the available IP telephoneinformation, which has a cheaper communication cost. Therefore, theconventional technology provides no option for the user to choose the IPtelephone, which has the cheaper communication cost. This problem can beseen not only when using the telephone service functions, but also whenusing other service functions that employ IP communication, such as anIFAX service function with respect to the ordinary fax service function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above-described problems. Thepurpose of the invention is to provide a communication apparatus thatprovides the user an option to choose IP communication by obtainingdestination information including IP communication (e.g., IPtelephone/IFAX) from a management server, when the management server(DNS server) has destination information that enables IP communication(e.g., IP telephone/IFAX) together with destination information forordinary telephone (or ordinary fax), the destination informationcorresponding to the telephone number provided for the communication.

In order to attain the above-described purpose, the communicationapparatus according to the present invention is connected to amanagement server that stores and manages destination information, theinformation including telephone numbers for communication, addresses ofa plurality of terminal apparatuses corresponding to each telephonenumber, and function service information of each terminal apparatus. Thecommunication apparatus includes an access unit that accesses themanagement server and informs a telephone number for communication; aninquiry information obtaining unit that obtains, from the managementserver, destination information of a terminal apparatus having thecommunication telephone number; an IP service presence determinationunit that determines whether the destination information obtained by theinquiry information obtaining unit has function service informationrelated to IP communication; and a display unit that displaysinformation indicating the available IP communication function serviceinformation of the terminal apparatus, the apparatus corresponding tothe communication telephone number, when the IP service presencedetermination unit determines that the IP communication function serviceinformation is available.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is further described in the detailed descriptionwhich follows, with reference to the noted plurality of drawings by wayof non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the presentinvention, in which like reference numerals represent similar partsthroughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a general internal configurationof an HGW (Home GateWay) system according to an embodiment on thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a general internal configurationof an HGW apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of theterminal apparatus managed by the HGW apparatus according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 briefly illustrates contents of an internal NAPTR record that isstored in an internal NAPTR memory area of the HGW apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 briefly illustrates contents of an external NAPTR record that isstored in an external NAPTR memory area of the HGW apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a CPU at the HGWside, in relation to the HGW apparatus that updates the registration ofan NAPTR record at the HGW side according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the CPU at the HGWside, in relation to an HGW apparatus that provides the NAPTR record atthe HGW side according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the CPU at the HGWside, in relation to the HGW apparatus that generates an inquiry for theexternal NAPTR record at the HGW side according to the embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a controller at theterminal side, in relation to an internal terminal that generates aninquiry for the NAPTR record of the terminal side according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the controller atthe terminal side, in relation to the internal terminal that generatesan inquiry for the NAPTR record of the terminal side according to theembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 generally illustrates messages generated when a telephone callis placed from the internal terminal according to the embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 12 generally illustrates messages generated when other types ofcommunication are used by the internal terminal, according to theembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The embodiment of the present invention is explained, as an HGW system,in the following, in reference to the above-described drawings. FIG. 1is a block diagram illustrating a general configuration of an internalHGW system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, HGW system 1 includes Internet 2; DNS server 3 thatstores and manages telephone numbers corresponding various destinationinformation (NAPTR: naming authority pointer record); a plurality ofinternal terminals 4 that are located inside a home (e.g. VoIP terminal,IFAX terminal); and HGW apparatus 6 that manages and connects to theplurality of internal terminals 4, and connects to public line 5 and DNSserver 3.

The plurality of internal terminals 4 include, for example, VoIPterminal 4A that has an ordinary telephone and IP telephone servicefunctions; IFAX terminal 4B that has ordinary fax and IFAX servicefunctions; PC terminal 4C that executes various settings; door intercom4D; and TV 4E. Although not shown in the figure, the internal terminals4 also include an ordinary telephone terminal that only has the normaltelephone service function, and an ordinary fax terminal that only hasthe normal fax service function.

HGW apparatus 6 connects to internal terminals 4 via the LAN, andmanages the plurality of internal terminals 4 by assigning an internalextension number (extension number) to each terminal. The detail of theabove is described later.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a general internal configurationof HGW apparatus 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, an HGW apparatus 6 includes internal-line connectioninterface 11 that connects to internal terminals 4; internal-linecommunication controller 12 that controls the communication withinternal terminals 4; external-line communication interface 13 thatconnects to DNS server 3 and public line 5; external-line communicationcontroller 14 that controls communication with the DNS server 3 andpublic line 5; HGW memory area 15 that stores and manages variousinformation related to HGW apparatus 6; and HGW-side CPU 16 thatcontrols the entire HGW apparatus 6.

Internal-line communication controller 12 is a unit that controls thecommunication with internal terminals 4, the controller includingpower-on monitor 12A that monitors ON/OFF (power status) of eachinternal terminal 4; device information detection unit 12B that obtains,from the internal terminal 4, the device information (of internalterminal 4) relating to the power-on status, when power-on monitor 12Adetects the power-on status of internal terminal 4; number notificationdetection unit 12C that detects a telephone number notification(extension number notification) in response to an inquiry from internalterminal 4.

HGW-side CPU 16 is a unit that controls the entire HGW apparatus 6,having management information generator 16A that generates managementinformation of internal terminal 4; NAPTR record generator 16B thatgenerates a NAPTR record based on all of the management information ofall internal terminals 4, the information being generated by managementinformation generator 16A and; HGW controller 16C that updates thememory of NAPTR record in HGW memory 15 and performs various controloperations of HGW-side CPU 16.

The management information of internal terminal 4 includes a servicefield that descries service functions of a corresponding internalterminal 4 (by device type or function type); and URI scheme thatdescribes URI specifying destination of the internal terminal 4 orfunction command, each information separately registered for eachinternal terminal 4 (which is later described in detail.) Based on suchinformation, extension number, IP address, and URI information can beidentified.

An NAPTR record includes an internal NAPTR record and an external NAPTRrecord. The internal NAPTR record is data including all managementinformation related to internal terminals 4 managed by HGW apparatus 6,while the external NAPTR record is data, within the internal NAPTRrecord, including management information relating to internal terminals4 that are allowed to be publicly disclosed to an outsider (DNS server3) other than HGW apparatus 6.

HGW memory 15 includes HGW memory area 15A that stores variousinformation related to HGW apparatus 6; internal NAPTR memory area 15Bthat stores and manages internal NAPTR record for the internalmanagement; external NAPTR memory area 15C that stores and managesexternal NAPTR record to be disclosed externally.

External-line communication controller 14 includes self NAPTR recordnotification unit 14A that notifies DNS server 3, at a predeterminedtiming, of the external NAPTR record that is already registered in theexternal NAPTR memory area 15C. External-line communication controller14 also includes external NAPTR record obtaining unit 14B that obtainsexternal NAPTR record from the DNS server, the record corresponding tothe inquiry telephone number given by internal terminal 4, and notifiesinternal terminal 4, through internal-line communication controller 12,of the requested external NAPTR record. In addition, DNS server 3updates the registration of the external NAPTR record corresponding tothe telephone number, when receiving the external NAPTR record from selfNAPTR record notification unit 14A.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a general configuration ofinternal terminal 4.

As shown in FIG. 3, internal terminal 4 includes HGW communicationinterface 21 that interfaces with HGW apparatus 6; terminalcommunication controller 22 that controls communication with HGWapparatus 6 via HGW communication interface 21; terminal memory 23 thatstores various information; display 24 that displays variousinformation; operation unit 25 that inputs various commands;terminal-side controller 26 that controls the entire internal terminal4; function driver 27 that executes function services according to theapparatus type of internal terminal 4; and IP service presencedetermination unit 28 that obtains the external NAPTR record (accordingto the inquiry telephone number) via HGW communication interface 21, anddetermines whether that obtained NAPTR record has an IP service functionidentical to the function of its own apparatus.

For the purpose of illustration, function driver 27 is described in theembodiment in order to avoid the redundant description. When internalterminal 4 is VoIP terminal 4A, function driver 27 is a driver specificto VoIP terminal 4A and related to the IP telephone service function.When internal terminal 4 is IFAX terminal 4B, function driver 27 is adriver specific to IFAX terminal 4B and related to the IFAX servicefunction.

FIG. 4 briefly illustrates contents of internal NAPTR record that isstored in internal NAPTR memory area 15B.

Internal NAPTR record includes data including management information ofall internal terminals 4 managed by HGW apparatus 6. The managementinformation includes service field that illustrates service function(apparatus type or function type) for each internal terminal 4, and URIscheme that illustrates URI to specify destination of each internalterminal 4 or function command. In addition, the apparatus type forinternal terminals 4 can be, for example, VoIP terminal (E2U+talk:sip),ordinary telephone terminal (E2U+talk:tel), IFAX terminal(E2U+talk:ifax), ordinary fax terminal, door intercom, or TV, therebyseparated by the types of each terminal. The function type can be, incase of TV, for example, configuration types such as voice access andimage transmission request that use the function command.

In this example, the internal NAPTR record is described in table format,as shown in FIG. 4. However, in the actual configuration, internal NAPTRrecord is data that lists only a service field and URI scheme.

FIG. 5 briefly illustrates contents of the external NAPTR record that isstored in external NAPTR memory area 15C.

The external NAPTR record is a portion of the internal NAPTR record thatis allowed to become public to the external device (DNS server 3), theinternal NAPTR record being related to all internal terminals 4 managedby HGW apparatus 6. The external NAPTR record is configured with aservice field (illustrating the available service type (by device type)corresponding to the telephone number managed by HGW apparatus 6) and aURI scheme (specifying destination by the above device type). For thepurpose of illustration, the external NAPTR record is illustrated in atable format as shown in FIG. 5. However, the actual external NAPTRrecord just lists service fields and URI schemes.

Furthermore, the management server in the claims is either DNS server 3or HGW apparatus 6. The communication apparatus is internal terminal 4;the inquiry information obtaining unit is terminal-side controller 26;the display unit is display 24; the IP service presence determinationunit is IP service presence determination unit 28; the communicationcontrol unit is terminal communication controller 22; and the internetfax function is the IFAX function.

The following description illustrates the operation of HGW system 1according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is aflowchart illustrating the operation of HGW-side CPU 16 within HGWapparatus 6, the operation being related to the registration updateprocess of the HGW-side NAPTR record.

The registration update process of the HGW-side NAPTR record (shown inFIG. 6) is a process, following the changes in information of internalterminals 4 (e.g., management information), that updates registration ofthe NAPTR record stored in HGW memory 15 within HGW apparatus 6.

When the user of an internal terminal 4 updates the registration of theNAPTR record contents, the user must first access HGW apparatus 6through PC terminal 4C.

In FIG. 6, HGW-side CPU 16 of HGW apparatus 6 detects, throughinternal-line communication interface 11 and internal-line communicationcontroller 12, an input of an extension number from PC terminal 4C, theterminal accessing for communication (step S11).

Upon detecting the extension number, HGW-side CPU 16 determines whetherthe extension number is new, based on the internal NAPTR record that isstored in the internal NAPTR memory area 15B (step S12). The URI schemeof the internal NAPTR record includes the extension number of internalterminal 4 that is managed by HGW apparatus 6.

When determining that the extension number input by PC terminal 4C isnew, HGW-side CPU 16 determines, through power-on monitor 12A ofinternal-line communication controller 12, whether the power-on ofinternal terminal 4 (having the new number) is detected (step S13).

CPU 16, when detecting the power-on of internal terminal 4, having thenew extension number, adds an IP address to the internal terminal 4 whenthe power is turned ON (step S14). The IP address is automatically addedto the powered-on internal terminal 4, using the DHCP function.

Management information generator 16A of HGW-side CPU 16 obtains (throughdevice information detection unit 12B of internal-line communicationcontroller 12) device information including service function (by devicetype or function type), and a destination or a function command from theinternal terminal 4 (step S15).

Based on the extension number, IP address, and device informationrelated to the newts internal terminal 4, management informationgenerator 16A generates URI information that is configured with aservice field (illustrating the service function, by device type orfunction type of internal terminal 4) and a URI scheme (specifyingdestination or function command related to the device of internalterminal 4) (step S16). In addition, the service function and functioncommand is considered as the function service information.

Management information generator 16A generates management information ofthe new internal terminal 4 based on the extension number, IP address,and URI information related to the internal terminal 4 (step S17).

Upon generating management information of internal terminal 4 usingmanagement information generator 16A, NAPTR record generator 16Bgenerates internal NAPTR record based on all management informationrelated to all internal terminals 4 that are managed by HGW apparatus 6(step S18). NAPTR record generator 16B also updates the registration ofthe internal NAPTR record in internal NAPTR memory area 15B, and updatesthe registration of the external NAPTR record in external NAPTR memoryarea 15C (step S19), the external NAPTR record being a portion of theinternal NAPTR record that is allowed to become public to the externaldevice (DNS server 3). Then, the operational process is terminated.

HGW-side CPU 16 specifies, within the internal NAPTR record, theexternal NAPTR record to be allowed to become public to the externaldevice, based on the operation specified from PC terminal 4C, andupdates the registration of the external NAPTR record in external NAPTRmemory area 15C.

When HGW-side CPU 16 does not detect a power-on of the internal terminal4 (having the new extension number) at step S13, HGW-side CPU 16displays a message prompting the power-on of the same internal terminal4 on the display screen of PC terminal 4C (step S20). Then, the controlmoves to step S13 in order to monitor whether the power is turned ON.

When HGW-side CPU 16 determines the extension number is not new at stepS12, HGW-side CPU 16 determines whether it detects a deletion (from PCterminal 4C) of the management information that is already registered inthe internal NAPTR record (step S21).

When HGW-side CPU 16 does not detect a deletion from PC terminal 4C,HGW-side CPU 16 determines that the input extension number (detected atstep S11) is an input of an extension number to be added/modified. Then,HGW-side CPU 16 displays, on the display screen of PC terminal 4C, themanagement information of the internal terminal 4 related to theextension number (for addition/modification) (step S22), and obtains thedevice information of the same internal terminal 4 through deviceinformation detection unit 12B (step S23). Then, the control moves tostep S16 in order to generate new management information of the internalterminal 4.

Upon detecting the deletion from PC terminal 4C at step S21, managementinformation generator 16A (of HGW-side CPU 16) determines that theextension number input detected at step S11 is the extension number tobe deleted. Therefore, management information of the internal terminal 4(related to the extension number for deletion) is deleted from theinternal NAPTR record stored in internal NAPTR memory area 15B (stepS24). Then, the control moves to step S18 in order to generate a newinternal NAPTR record after the management information of the internalterminal 4 is deleted.

According to the HGW-side NAPTR record registration updating processshown in FIG. 6, HGW apparatus 6 is provided with management informationincluding URI information that is configured with a service field(indicating the service type of all internal terminals 4 under themanagement, by device type or function type) and a URI scheme(specifying a destination or function command). HGW apparatus 6 is alsoprovided with an internal NAPTR record based on the entire managementinformation of all internal terminals 4, in order to update theregistration of the internal NAPTR record in internal NAPTR memory area15B. Therefore, HGW apparatus 6 can store and manage the internal NAPTRrecord including the destinations and function commands of all internalterminals 4 that are managed by HGW apparatus 6.

Further, according to the registration updating process of the HGW-sideNAPTR record, the external NAPTR record is generated, within theinternal NAPTR record managed by HGW apparatus 6, the record beingallowed to be public to DNS server 3, in order to update theregistration of the generated external NAPTR record in external NAPTRmemory area 15C. Therefore, according to the user setup operation, it ispossible to specify the internal NAPTR record and the external NAPTRrecord for securing the user privacy protection.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the operational process of HGW-sideCPU 16 of HGW apparatus 6, the process relating to an HGW-side NAPTRrecord providing process.

The HGW-side NAPTR record providing process shown in FIG. 7 is a processthat provides the registered NAPTR record to HGW memory 15, according toan inquiry from internal terminal 4 or DNS servers 3.

In FIG. 7, HGW controller 16C of HGW-side CPU 16 determines whether itdetects an inquiry access from internal terminal 4 through internal-linecommunication controller 12 (step S31).

When detecting an inquiry access from internal terminal 4, HGWcontroller 16C reads out an internal NAPTR record stored in internalNAPTR memory area 15B, and notifies the inquiring internal terminal 4 ofthe internal NAPTR record (step S32). Then, the operational process isterminated.

When the inquiry access detected by self NAPTR record notification unit14A (of the HGW controller 16C) is not from internal terminal 4 at stepS31, self NAPTR notification unit 14A determines that the inquiry accessis from DNS server 3 (through external-line communication controller14A). Therefore, the external NAPTR record that is stored in externalNAPTR memory area 15C is read out, DNS server 3 is notified of theexternal NAPTR record (step S33). Then, the operational process isterminated.

According to the HGW-side NAPTR record providing process shown in FIG.7, when an inquiry access from internal terminal 4 is detected, internalterminal 4 is notified of the internal NAPTR record that is stored ininternal NAPTR memory area 15B. However, when an inquiry access from DNSserver 3 is detected, the DNS server 3 is notified of the external NAPTRrecord that is stored in external NAPTR memory area 15C. Accordingly,since the NAPTR record is provided differently depending on where theinquiry is generated from (e.g. internal terminal 4 or DNS server 3),the user privacy is protected even when the information becomes public.

In addition, according to the HGW-side NAPTR record providing processshown in FIG. 7, the illustration was based on providing the NAPTRrecord when there is a communication access to HGW apparatus 6 frominternal terminal 4 or DNS server 3. However, even when there is nocommunication access from DNS server 3, for example, the DNS server 3can be automatically notified of the external NAPTR record, when thereis a registration update of the external NAPTR record (stored inexternal NAPTR memory area 15C).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an operational process of HGW-sideCPU 16 of HGW apparatus 6, the process relating to an inquiry process ofthe HGW-side external NAPTR record.

The inquiry process of the HGW-side external NAPTR record shown in FIG.8 is a process that includes detecting an inquiry number from internalterminal 4; notifying internal terminal 4 (when the inquiry number is anextension number) of the internal NAPTR record having the extensionnumber; making an inquiry to DNS server 3 (when the inquiry number is atelephone number (external-line number)) for the external NAPTR recordcorresponding to the telephone number; and notifying internal terminal 4of the NAPTR record corresponding to the telephone number (obtained fromDNS server 3).

In FIG. 8, upon detecting the inquiry telephone number from internalterminal 4 through internal-line communication controller 12 (the numberbeing managed in HGW apparatus 6) (step S41), HGW controller 16C ofHGW-side CPU 16 determines whether the telephone number is an extensionnumber (step S42).

When determining that the inquiry telephone number is not an extensionnumber, HGW controller 16C determines that the telephone number is anexternal-line number and generates an inquiry to DNS server 3, throughexternal NAPTR record obtaining unit 14B of external-line communicationcontroller 14, to obtain the external NAPTR record corresponding to thetelephone number (step S43). In addition, DNS server 3 stores andmanages the external NAPTR record for each telephone number.

External NAPTR record obtaining unit 14B determines whether the externalNAPTR record corresponding to the inquiry telephone number is obtainedfrom DNS server 3 (step S44).

When determining that the external NAPTR record is obtained from DNSserver 3, the record been corresponding to the inquiry telephone number,external NAPTR record obtaining unit 14B notifies internal terminal 4(inquiry generator) of the obtained external NAPTR record, throughinternal-line communication controller 12 (step S45). Then, theoperational process is terminated. Accordingly, internal terminal 4 canobtain the external NAPTR record corresponding to the inquiry telephonenumber.

When determining that the external NAPTR record cannot be obtained fromDNS server 3 at step S44, the record corresponding to the inquirytelephone number, external NAPTR record obtaining unit 14B notifiesinternal terminal 4 (inquiry generator), through internal-linecommunication controller 12A, of a message that the external NAPTRrecord cannot be obtained (step S46). Then, the operational process isterminated. Therefore, internal terminal 4 is not able to obtain theexternal NAPTR record corresponding to the inquiry telephone number.

When determining that the inquiry telephone number is an extensionnumber at step S42, HGW controller 16C notifies internal terminal 4(inquiry generator) of the internal NAPTR record stored in internalNAPTR memory area 15B (step S47). Then, the operational process isterminated. Accordingly, internal terminal 4 is able to obtain theinternal NAPTR record.

According to the HGW-side external NAPTR record inquiry process shown inFIG. 8, when detecting an inquiry extension number from internalterminal 4, the internal terminal 4 is notified of the internal NAPTRrecord that is stored in internal NAPTR memory area 15B. At the sametime, when detecting an inquiry telephone number (external-line number)from internal terminal 4, the external NAPTR record corresponding to thetelephone number is searched for and obtained from DNS server 3, so thatthe internal terminal 4 (inquiry generator) is notified of the obtainedexternal NAPTR record. Accordingly, the user of internal terminal 4 isable to obtain an internal NAPTR record corresponding to an extensionnumber, and an external NAPTR record corresponding to a telephone number(external-line number), with a simple operation.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are flowcharts illustrating an operational process ofterminal-side controller 26 of internal terminal 4, the process relatingto a terminal-side NAPTR record inquiry process.

The terminal-side NAPTR record inquiry process shown in FIGS. 9 and 10includes various types of operations of internal terminal 4 after therequested NAPTR record is obtained from HGW apparatus 6.

In FIG. 9, upon detecting an inquiry telephone number input,terminal-side controller 26 of internal terminal 4 notifies HGWapparatus 6 of the inquiry telephone number, through HGW communicationinterface 21 (step S51).

Terminal-side controller 26 determines whether the inquiry telephonenumber is an extension number (step S52).

When determining that the inquiry telephone number is an extensionnumber, terminal-side controller 26 obtains, from HGW apparatus 6, aninternal NAPTR record stored in internal NAPTR memory area 15B (stepS53), and enables display 24 to display all service functions (either bydevice type or function type) of internal terminals 4, the functionsbeing selected from the obtained internal NAPTR records (step S54).Then, the operational process is terminated. Accordingly, the user ofthe internal terminal 4 views the service functions (by device type orfunction type) displayed on display 26, and visually recognize theservice functions (by device type or function type) of all internalterminals 4.

When determining that the inquiry telephone number is not an extensionnumber at step S52, terminal-side controller 26 determines that thetelephone number is an external-line number and obtains, from DNS server3, an external NAPTR record corresponding to the inquiry telephonenumber via HGW apparatus 6 (step S55). Additionally, external NAPTRrecord includes device type information (service field) and destination(URI scheme) that correspond to the inquiry telephone number, as shownin FIG. 5.

Upon obtaining the external NAPTR record corresponding to the inquirytelephone number at step S55, terminal-side controller 26 sorts theservice functions (within the external NAPTR record) in a predeterminedpriority order of the service functions used by internal terminal 4(step S56). In particular, the priority order of the service functionsis a service function order for the use by internal terminal 4. Forexample, when internal terminal 4 has service functions of ordinarytelephone, IP telephone, ordinary fax, and IFAX functions, the user canset the priority order, for example, 1) ordinary telephone; 2) IPtelephone; 3) ordinary fax; and 4) IFAX functions. In addition, thesorting process for the priority order at step S56 (sorting the servicefunctions within the obtained external NAPTR record, in the priorityorder) allows a smooth execution of an identification operation for theservice function following the sorting process.

Next, terminal-side controller 26 determines whether the external NAPTRrecord has a service function of the ordinary telephone (E2U+talk:tel)(step S57). The determination of the presence of a service function ismade based on the service field of the external NAPTR record.

When determining that the external NAPTR record has the ordinarytelephone service function, it is determined that the communicationdestination has the ordinary telephone service function. Thus, anordinary telephone flag is turned ON (step S58). Next, it is determinedwhether the external NAPTR record has a service function of an IPtelephone (E2U+talk:sip) (step S59).

When determining that the external NAPTR record has the IP telephoneservice function, terminal-side controller 26 determines that thecommunication destination has the IP telephone service function. Thus,an IP telephone flag is turned ON (step S60). Next, it is determinedwhether the external NAPTR record has a service function of an ordinaryfax (E2U+fax:tel) (step S61).

When determining that the external NAPTR record has the ordinary faxservice function, terminal-side controller 26 determines that thecommunication destination has the ordinary fax service function. Thus,an ordinary fax flag is turned ON (step S62). Next, it is determinedwhether the external NAPTR record has a service function of an IFAX(E2U+ifax) (step S63).

When determining that the external NAPTR record has the IFAX servicefunction, terminal-side controller 26 determines that the communicationdestination has the IFAX service function. Thus, an IFAX flag is turnedON (step S64). Next, it is determined whether the external NAPTR recordhas a service function of e-mail (E2U+email:mailto) (step S65).

When determining that the external NAPTR record has the e-mail servicefunction, terminal-side controller 26 determines that the communicationdestination has the e-mail service function. Thus, an e-mail flag isturned ON (step S66). Next, the service functions of the communicationdestination (corresponding to the inquiry telephone number) based on theON/OFF mark of each flag are displayed on display 24, as shown in FIG.12(a) (step S67). Then, the control moves to M1 shown in FIG. 10.Additionally, FIG. 12(a) illustrates an example where the ordinarytelephone flag is turned ON, the IP telephone flag is turned ON, theordinary fax flag is turned ON, the IFAX flag is turned ON, and thee-mail flag is turned OFF (i.e., the communication destination hasservice functions for the ordinary telephone, ordinary fax, IFAX, and IPtelephone).

When it is determined that the external NAPTR record does not have theservice function of the ordinary telephone at step S57, terminal-sidecontroller 26 leaves the ordinary telephone flag “OFF”. Then, thecontrol moves to step S59.

When it is determined that the external NAPTR record does not have theservice function of the IP telephone at step S59, terminal-sidecontroller 26 leaves the IP telephone flag “OFF”. Then, the controlmoves to step S61.

When it is determined that the external NAPTR record does not have theservice function of the ordinary fax at step S61, terminal-sidecontroller 26 leaves the ordinary fax flag “OFF”. Then, the controlmoves to step S63.

When it is determined that the external NAPTR record does not have theservice function of the IFAX at step S63, terminal-side controller 26leaves the IFAX flag “OFF”. Then, the control moves to step S65.

When it is determined that the external NAPTR record does not have theservice function of the e-mail service at step S65, terminal-sidecontroller 26 leaves the e-mail flag “OFF”. Then, the control moves tostep S67.

In addition, internal terminal 4, shown as an example in FIG. 9, hasservice functions of ordinary telephone, IP telephone, ordinary fax,IFAX, and e-mail and executes a determination process of steps S57, S59,S61, S63, and S65. However, when internal terminal 4 only has servicefunctions of ordinary telephone and IP telephone, for example, internalterminal 4 only executes the process of determining whether the externalNAPTR record has the ordinary telephone and IP telephone servicefunctions, and the process of setting the flags for IP telephone andmoderate telephone. Therefore, the processing steps from S61 to S66 arenot necessary. Accordingly, the service functions are displayed ondisplay 24, based on the ON/OFF state of the ordinary telephone flag andIP telephone flag.

Starting from M1 shown in FIG. 10, terminal-side controller 26determines whether what is initiated at internal terminal 4 is thetelephone service function (step S71). In this embodiment, “what isinitiated” is a first service function used when internal terminal 4 isbeing used. In this example, the first service function is set by auser.

When it is determined what is initiated is a telephone service function,terminal-side controller 26 determines, through IP service presencedetermination unit 28, whether the IP telephone flag is ON (step S72).

When determining that the IP telephone flag is ON, terminal-sidecontroller 26 enables display 24 to display a message indicating thatthe IP telephone service function is available, as shown in FIG. 11(step S73), and determines whether a selection for the IP telephoneservice function is detected within a predetermined time period (stepS74). When the user of internal terminal 4 views “050” (the messageindicating that the IP telephone service function can be used), the usercan recognize that the communication destination has the IP telephoneservice function.

When detecting the selection for the IP telephone service functionwithin a predetermined time period, terminal-side controller 26 executesa signal transmission to the communication destination for thiscommunication (e.g., sip:05012345678info@sip.panasonic.com), using theIP telephone service function (step S75). Then, the operational processis terminated. Accordingly, the user of internal terminal 4 canaccomplish the execution of signal transmission using the IP telephoneservice function.

When determining that the IP telephone flag is not ON at step S72,terminal-side controller 26 executes a signal transmission to thecommunication destination using the ordinary telephone service function(e.g., sip:tel:+814512345678) (step S76). Then, the operation process isterminated. Accordingly, the user of internal terminal 4 can accomplishthe execution of signal transmission using an ordinary telephone servicefunction, viewing the displayed contents as shown in FIG. 12(b).Similarly, when fax function is selected as shown in FIG. 12(c), asignal transmission using the ordinary fax service function is executed.

When terminal-side controller 26 does not detect a selection for the IPtelephone service function within a predetermine time period at stepS74, the control moves to step S76 to allow the use of an ordinarytelephone service function.

When determining that what is initiated at step S71 is not a telephoneservice function, terminal-side controller 26 determines whether what isinitiated is the fax service function (step S77).

When it is determined that what is initiated is the fax servicefunction, terminal-side controller 26 determines, through IP servicepresence determination unit 28, whether the IFAX flag is ON (step S78).

When determining that the IFAX flag is ON, terminal-side controller 26enables display 24 to display a message indicating that the IFAX servicefunction is available (step S79), and determines whether a selection forthe IFAX service function is detected within a predetermined time period(step S80). Accordingly, the user of internal terminal 4 can recognizethat the communication destination has the IFAX service function, byviewing the message indicating that the IFAX service function isavailable.

Then, terminal-side controller 26 selects the IFAX service functionwithin a predetermined time period and executes a signal transmission tothe communication destination (e.g., mailto:ifax@panasonic.com) (stepS81). Then, the operational process is terminated.

When it is determined that what is initiated at step S77 is not the faxservice function, terminal-side controller 26 maintains the display ofthe service function of the communication destination as shown in FIG.12(a). Then, the operational process is terminated.

In addition, when is determined that the IFAX flag is not ON at stepS78, terminal-side controller 26 determines that there is no IFAXservice function. Thus, terminal-side controller 26 enables theexecution of signal transmission to the communication destination, usingthe ordinary fax service function (step S82). Then, the operationalprocess is terminated.

According to the terminal-side NAPTR record inquiry process as shown inFIGS. 9 and 10, upon obtaining the external NAPTR record correspondingto the telephone number for the communication, some of service functionsof the communication destination are displayed as a list on display 24(as shown in FIG. 12), the service functions being shared by bothinternal terminal 4 and the external NAPTR record (destination terminalcorresponding to the telephone number). Accordingly, the user ofinternal terminal 4 can recognize the available service functions of thecommunication destination.

In addition, according to the terminal-side NAPTR record inquiryprocess, the service functions of the communication destination, thefunction being also shared by its own service, are displayed as a liston display 24. However, when using a telephone service, for example, theuser of internal terminal 4 can recognize that there is also an optionof the IP telephone that has a cheaper communication cost, by thefinding out that the communication destination has an IP telephoneservice function, when the communication destination has IP telephoneservice function, prior to placing a call using an ordinary telephonefunction.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when acommunication telephone number is given to DNS server 3, an externalNAPTR record corresponding to the communication telephone number isobtained from DNS server 3. Then, available IP service functions of thedestination (corresponding to the communication telephone number) aredisplayed on display 24, when it is determined that the obtainedexternal NAPTR record has IP communication service functions.Accordingly, the user of internal terminal 4 can visually recognizeavailable IP communication service functions (e.g., IP telephone andIFAX) of the destination.

Further, according to the embodiment of the present invention, when itis determined that the obtained external NAPTR record has IPcommunication service functions, display 24 displays such available IPcommunication service functions (e.g., IP telephone and IFAX) of thedestination corresponding to the communication telephone number. Whenone of the IP communication service functions is selected, thetransmission operation is performed using the IP communication servicefunction. Therefore, the user can largely decrease the cost ofcommunication (e.g., telephone/fax transmission cost) with thedestination, compared to using an ordinary telephone/fax servicefunction.

It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely forthe purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limitingof the present invention. While the present invention has been describedwith reference to exemplary embodiments, it is understood that the wordswhich have been used herein are words of description and illustration,rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made, within the purviewof the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the present invention in itsaspects. Although the present invention has been described herein withreference to particular structures, materials and embodiments, thepresent invention is not intended to be limited to the particularsdisclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends to allfunctionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are withinthe scope of the appended claims.

The present invention is not limited to the above described embodiments,and various variations and modifications may be possible withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention.

This application is based on the Japanese Patent Application No.2003-433189 filed on Dec. 26, 2003, entire content of which is expresslyincorporated by reference herein.

1. A communication apparatus that connects to a management server, theserver storing telephone numbers for communication and destinationinformation, the destination information including addresses of aplurality of terminal apparatuses corresponding to each telephonenumber, and function service information of each terminal apparatus, thecommunication apparatus comprising: an access unit that accesses themanagement server and notifies the management server of a telephonenumber for communication; an inquiry information obtaining unit thatobtains, when said access unit notifies the management server of thecommunication telephone number, destination information of a terminalapparatus from the management server, the terminal apparatus beingcorresponding to the communication telephone number; an IP servicepresence determination unit that determines whether the destinationinformation obtained by said inquiry information obtaining unit hasfunction service information related to Internet Protocol communication;and an indicator that indicates the terminal apparatus corresponding tothe communication telephone number has function of the Internet Protocolcommunication, when said IP service presence determination unitdetermines that the destination information has the Internet Protocolcommunication function service information.
 2. The communicationapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said indicator is a display thatdisplays the terminal apparatus has function of the Internet Protocolcommunication.
 3. The communication apparatus according to claim 2,further comprising: a communication controller that executes atransmission operation to the terminal apparatus, when a selection forthe Internet Protocol communication is detected while said display isdisplaying the indication of the Internet Protocol communicationfunction service information of the terminal apparatus, the transmissionoperation being based on the address of the terminal apparatus relatedto the destination information of the Internet Protocol communicationfunction service information.
 4. The communication apparatus accordingto claim 2, wherein the function service information related to theInternet Protocol communication is an Internet telephone function. 5.The communication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the functionservice information related to the Internet Protocol communication is anInternet facsimile function.
 6. The communication apparatus according toclaim 4, said display initially displays the Internet telephone functionwhen a telephone service is initiated.
 7. The communication apparatusaccording to claim 5, said display initially displays the Internetfacsimile function when a facsimile service is initiated.
 8. Acommunication apparatus that connects to a management server, the serverstoring telephone numbers for communication and destination information,the destination information including addresses of a plurality ofterminal apparatuses corresponding to each telephone number, andfunction service information of each terminal apparatus, thecommunication apparatus comprising: an access unit that accesses themanagement server and notifies the management server of a telephonenumber for communication; an inquiry information obtaining unit thatobtains, when said access unit notifies the management server of thecommunication telephone number, destination information of a terminalapparatus from the management server, the apparatus being correspondingto the communication telephone number; an IP service presencedetermination unit that determines whether the destination informationobtained by said inquiry information obtaining unit has function serviceinformation related to Internet Protocol communication; and acommunication controller that executes a transmission operation to theterminal apparatus based on the address of the terminal apparatusrelated to the destination information of the Internet Protocolcommunication function service information, when said IP servicepresence determination unit determines that the destination informationhas the Internet Protocol communication function service information. 9.A method for obtaining destination information, using a communicationapparatus that connects to a management server, the server storingtelephone numbers for communication and the destination information, thedestination information including addresses of a plurality of terminalapparatuses corresponding to each telephone number, and function serviceinformation of each terminal apparatus, the method comprising: accessingthe management server and notifying the management server of a telephonenumber for communication; obtaining, when notifying the managementserver of the communication telephone number, destination information ofa terminal apparatus from the management server, the terminal apparatusbeing corresponding to the communication telephone number; determiningwhether the obtained destination information has function serviceinformation related to Internet Protocol communication; and indicatingthe terminal apparatus corresponding to the communication telephonenumber has function of the Internet Protocol communication, when it isdetermined that the destination information has the Internet Protocolcommunication function service information.
 10. The method according toclaim 9, wherein the indicating means displaying that the terminalapparatus has function of the Internet Protocol communication.
 11. Themethod according to claim 10, further comprising: executing atransmission operation to the terminal apparatus, when a selection forthe Internet Protocol communication is detected while displaying theindication of the IP communication function service information of theterminal apparatus, the transmission operation being based on theaddress of the terminal apparatus related to the destination informationof the Internet Protocol communication function service information. 12.The method according to claim 10, wherein the function serviceinformation related to the Internet Protocol communication is anInternet telephone function.
 13. The method according to claim 10,wherein the function service information related to the InternetProtocol communication is an Internet facsimile function.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 12, the Internet telephone function is initiallydisplayed when a telephone service is initiated.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 13, the Internet facsimile function is initiallydisplayed when a facsimile service is initiated.
 16. A method forobtaining destination information, using a communication apparatus thatconnects to a management server, the server storing telephone numbersfor communication and the destination information, the destinationinformation including addresses of a plurality of terminal apparatusescorresponding to each telephone number, and function service informationof each terminal apparatus, the method comprising: accessing themanagement server and notifying the management server of a telephonenumber for communication; obtaining, when notifying the managementserver of the communication telephone number, destination information ofa terminal apparatus from the management server, the terminal apparatusbeing corresponding to the communication telephone number; determiningwhether the obtained destination information has function serviceinformation related to Internet Protocol communication; and executing atransmission operation to the terminal apparatus based on the address ofthe terminal apparatus related to the destination information of theInternet Protocol communication function service information, when it isdetermined that the destination information has the Internet Protocolcommunication function service information.